Event Title
The Development of Crossmodal Attention: A Study Using an Attentional Cueing Task
Location
Science Center, Bent Corridor
Start Date
9-26-2014 12:00 PM
End Date
9-26-2014 1:20 PM
Poster Number
27
Abstract
Many studies have examined the interaction between attention and multisensory integration in adults; however, little is known about how this complex relationship develops during childhood. In the current study, I investigated the development of multisensory attention using a crossmodal orthogonal attentional cueing paradigm. Adult studies of this task, including my previous work, have shown that a stimulus in one modality can shift the spatial attention in another modality. For example, an auditory cue presented in the left periphery will speed the detection of a visual target presented on the left but slow the detection of a target on the right. I adapted and verified an audiovisual child-themed version of the attentional cuing task for use with children, varying the auditory cues and the temporal relationship—called stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)—between the cues and the visual targets. These manipulations allow me to investigate the differential effects of cue validity and cue type on response time (RT). The age range included in the study spanned from four to seventeen years old for the child participants and from eighteen to forty years old for the adult participants. In my analyses, I look at developmental differences in global reaction time, effects of SOA on RT, effects of cue validity on RT, and magnitude of facilitation following valid compared to invalid cues.
Recommended Citation
Schmittgen, Kaetlyn, "The Development of Crossmodal Attention: A Study Using an Attentional Cueing Task" (2014). Celebration of Undergraduate Research. 23.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/cour/2014/posters/23
Award
Oberlin College Research Fellow (OCRF)
Project Mentor(s)
Leslie Kwakye, Neuroscience
Document Type
Poster
The Development of Crossmodal Attention: A Study Using an Attentional Cueing Task
Science Center, Bent Corridor
Many studies have examined the interaction between attention and multisensory integration in adults; however, little is known about how this complex relationship develops during childhood. In the current study, I investigated the development of multisensory attention using a crossmodal orthogonal attentional cueing paradigm. Adult studies of this task, including my previous work, have shown that a stimulus in one modality can shift the spatial attention in another modality. For example, an auditory cue presented in the left periphery will speed the detection of a visual target presented on the left but slow the detection of a target on the right. I adapted and verified an audiovisual child-themed version of the attentional cuing task for use with children, varying the auditory cues and the temporal relationship—called stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)—between the cues and the visual targets. These manipulations allow me to investigate the differential effects of cue validity and cue type on response time (RT). The age range included in the study spanned from four to seventeen years old for the child participants and from eighteen to forty years old for the adult participants. In my analyses, I look at developmental differences in global reaction time, effects of SOA on RT, effects of cue validity on RT, and magnitude of facilitation following valid compared to invalid cues.